


Double Date

by Apharine



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Double Dating, Edgy Older Blokes, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hiking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:53:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29388705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apharine/pseuds/Apharine
Summary: Peony's been invited to the Star Tournament, but he's not certain about returning to the Pokemon League, even if his partner, Mari, is very interested in competing.  When Peony's old friend, Kabu, tries to convince Peony to join, Mari's certain he'll cave.Somehow, this turns into a double date with Kabu's partner - and a healthy dose of reminiscing about Kabu and Peony's shared past in the Pokemon League.
Relationships: Kabu/Original Pokemon Trainer(s), Peony (Pokemon)/Original Female Character(s), Peony/Original Pokemon Trainer(s)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MaggyFinallyWrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaggyFinallyWrites/gifts).



> This fic was written for the absolutely wonderful Maggy, who has been a delightful friend, not just to me, but to others, as well!! We've had this fic idea in the works for quite a while now, but it seemed all too appropriate to finally get it wrapped up and posted to celebrate Valentine's Day! Although there's nothing explicitly Valentine's themed in here, it feels very in tune with the season to get to indulge in our ships together <3
> 
> Mari belongs to Maggy, and is used here with permission! If you're not already familiar with Maggy's works, please check her out here on AO3 at MaggyFinallyWrites or on Twitter at MaggyChatter! Kana belongs to me :) As a brief side note, this is technically a bit of an AU for Maggy - she's ordinarily in a wonderful OT3 ship with Kabu and Peony, but for the sake of getting to see our characters together, we have this whole Tundraverse AU developed where Mari and Kabu have a past, but ultimately Mari settles down with Peony and becomes a mentor to Kana!

Peony isn’t exactly a quiet sort of person.

Mari has known this about him for a long time; in fact, she loves him for it. There’s something so genuinely wonderful and refreshing about someone who has no hesitations regarding expressing himself to the world. Peony wears his heart on his sleeve - and it’s a heart that’s very full of love.

Every day that Mari gets to bear witness to that love - and return it - feels like a blessing to her.

All the same, there are occasions that make Peony’s natural loudness really rather amusing - like right now, Mari thinks with a slight smile into her cup of tea.

Two rooms away, Peony is on the phone, and Mari can hear every word of his conversation.

“You know I’m always glad to hear from you, Kabu!” Peony is laughing, sounding absolutely delighted to have gotten a phone call from his dear friend. “Is there any particular reason you wanted to give your old mate a ring, or did you just want to wag chins for a minute?”

Mari’s fingers tighten around her teacup as a long pause draws out. She’s pretty sure she knows why Kabu has called - and she’s also pretty sure that her partner isn’t going to like it.

When Peony speaks again, it’s in a slightly exasperated tone, and Mari knows she was right.

“C’mon, Kabu, you know I’m not coming back to the League at any point….and this Star Tournament thing is dangerously close to that,” Peony says firmly. Mari takes another sip of her tea, absently flipping one of the two letters that Leon, the former Champion of Galar, had hand-delivered all the way out to their snowy home in Freezington. Mari has to admit, she hadn’t really expected to receive an invitation herself, but Leon had insisted, stating that Galar’s premiere Electric-type Specialist was not to be left out of the proceedings.

Mari had found the whole thing flattering. Peony, on the other hand, was unable to give the new League Chairman a straightforward answer, despite being hospitable enough to him.

“Look, I know that Rose isn’t League Chairman anymore. And sure, Leon is nice enough, but…the fact is, the League has grown into its own monster under my brother,” Peony continues, his voice dropping as he says the words. “I don’t want to be associated with it anymore. One well-intentioned kid isn’t going to change the whole game, even if he thinks he’s the one pulling the strings right now.”

Mari frowns at Peony’s words. She had been a Gym Leader in Rose’s League, and although she hadn’t always loved the job or felt like it was truly the right fit for her, she also hadn’t ever felt like the League - or Rose in general, really - was as unbearable as Peony seemed to think. Then again, Mari considers, she hadn’t been Champion. And Rose  _ had _ pulled that stunt with the Darkest Day.

She supposes she might have some baggage if she had a sibling who had been, apparently, scheming something like that for some time.

“Mari?” Peony asks, and Mari makes the inference that Kabu had asked how she felt on the matter. “I - well, Mari is….I think she’s…interested.”

Mari takes another sip of her tea, perking her ears up. Ultimately, while she’s glad she doesn’t have to deal with all the ins and outs of actually  _ being _ the Electric-Type Gym Leader, her passion for battling has not waned in the slightest - as most of Galar is well aware. After all, she’d had a couple high-profile battles with Kana, the new Electric-Type Gym Leader, and ultimately, had taken on a mentor relationship for her, even accepting a contract of employment by her Gym. Being able to do what she loved without the pressure of having to keep her performance metrics - and paperwork - to League standards had been a nice change of pace so far. The friendship and slight rivalry that had sprouted between her and Kana had only been a bonus.

“Yeah,” Peony is saying, his voice finally quieting down some. “Yeah, I think Mari probably would go if not for me.”

Mari feels a slight pang of guilt; his words are true, but she doesn’t want her partner to feel responsible for her decision, either.

“Yeah. Uh-huh,” Peony continues. “You’re sure? If it’s really like what you say…”

A long silence stretches out, followed by Peony groaning in frustration.

“All right, old man!” He says teasingly. “You got me! Fine! I cave! Steel Peony will consider fighting in the Star Tournament. And, may I say, he and Mari are going to crush the competition - even if it’s you!”

Mari stands up abruptly, feeling her heart beginning to hammer in her chest from a mix of sudden excitement and anxiety.

This might really happen.

“Yeah, you know what, that would be nice, too,” Peony agrees. “Why don’t I run that by Mari and get back to you?”

Whatever  _ that _ is, Mari doesn’t find out immediately, because the front door slams open, caught in a gust of wind. Framed by the evening sky is Nia’s outline, clutching herself and shivering.

“It’s bloody  _ awful _ out there,” she groans, staggering into the house and pulling the door shut behind herself. “And I just got my arse handed to me in the Dynamax Adventures tunnels, to boot,” she adds, clearly moping.

“Heatran again?” Mari asks knowingly; Nia had been relentlessly pursuing the part-Steel type, in true family tradition.

“Yeah,” Nia sighs, dusting snow off herself. “One of these days I’ll get it. Do you have any more tea for me to warm up with?”

“Sure do,” Mari agrees, and moves to go pour the girl a cup. Nia begins to tell her the details of the Adventure, and Mari is soon enraptured by her description of the battle, giving her technique suggestions here and there.

Still, she keeps Peony’s words in the back of her mind, and resolves to ask him what, exactly, he has up his sleeve as soon as she can.

* * *

“A double date, of course,” Peony answers, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Kabu’s idea, actually, but I think it’s cute. It’ll be nice for us all to catch up.”

“Oh - a double date?” Mari muses. “Like, at dinner?”

“Ah. Not….quite. Although dinner could be a part of the package deal afterwards,” Peony says with a nervous chuckle.

Mari feels her expression fall. Whatever this is, she’s fairly certain she might not like it as much as she’d hoped.

“What are you and Kabu cooking up?”

“We were thinking maybe a day of hiking - seeing the sights out in the Wild Area, maybe training a little to get ready for the Star Tournament?”

Mari groans, dropping her head into her hands. Of  _ course _ the men had something active and competitive in mind and not, say, a normal double date activity, like a movie.

A moment later, it hits Mari.

“Wait - did you - did you say Star Tournament?” She asks, raising her head once more. Peony affixes her with a rare soft smile, his green eyes sparkling as he nods.

“Yeah, I did,” he confirms. “I got to thinking about it a little, and, well - it’s  _ not  _ Rose’s league anymore, is it? And even if it was - you’re still in the League, and I want to support you. So,” he continues, one of his infamously brilliant grins stretching his face. “Be prepared to have a super-mega-ultra awesome time with me, because we’re gonna rock all of Galar together, starting with Wyndon Stadium!”

Despite herself, Mari can’t help but smile back at her partner.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” she says, then starts to laugh as Peony scoops her up, pulling her close and peppering kisses all over her face.


	2. Chapter 2

Things move quickly from there - Mari and Peony send out their official RSVP for the Star Tournament and register as each other’s battling partners. Kabu is beyond elated to hear the news - and, frankly, so is Kana, who sends Mari an extremely excited text about the whole thing. Ultimately, Peony sets up a group chat, and plans are made for the double date to happen shortly before the Star Tournament itself. They’ll hike, get a view, and come back to Motostoke for dinner before taking off for Wyndon the next day.

“Hey,” Peonia says, popping her head into Mari and Peony’s room. “Do I have to come to Motostoke with you guys, or….”

“Aw, c’mon, Nia!” Peony grins, moving over and pulling his daughter into a hug that, frankly, looks more like a headlock that anything. “Don’t tell me you don’t enjoy visiting the city now and then! And besides - you know you’ll have -”

“A super ultra mega fun time, I know,” Nia deadpans.

“Hey, you don’t sound super ultra mega excited,” Peony frowns, letting go of Nia and instead putting one hand on her shoulder gently. “We’re going to Wyndon after, you know. I’ve even sewn you an ultra-mega-awesome shirt to wear to the Star Tournament with Mari’s face and my face on it! You’ll be our official number one fan,” he says as optimistically as he can.

Nia grimaces and rolls her eyes.

“Just so you know, Nia, you don’t have to come with us on the double date hike...and I’ll take you shopping in Wyndon,” Mari says, feeling fairly certain that she understands the heart of the girl’s moping.

“Shopping where?” Nia asks suspiciously, though an interested light gleams faintly in her eyes.

“Wherever you want,” Mari says patiently, pretty certain she already knows exactly where Nia will want to go - she’s only been talking about the place for the last month straight, after all.

“Even the Adventure Gear flagship store?” Nia presses, a light coming to her eyes. Ah. Exactly as Mari had suspected.

“I was hoping you might want to go there, in all honesty,” Mari smiles, and Nia whoops.

“All right, I’m in - but!” She adds, sticking her finger in her father’s chest. “You are _ not _ gonna try and drag me into that double date of yours, Dad! And that’s final!”

Before Peony can respond, she marches off, and Mari has to suppress a quiet laugh as she finishes packing her bag. Peony, for his part, watches Nia leave, a frown on his face as he jiggles his leg impatiently.

“Man, I don’t get her sometimes,” he admits, then turns to Mari, a smile breaking across his features. “But that’s all right. You don’t have to always get someone to love them!”

“You’re a good dad, Peony,” Mari smiles, setting down her clothing and moving towards her big man. She slips into his arms easily, pressing her cheek against his chest as she lets out a quiet, happy hum. Here, with his thick arms wrapping around her, she feels so safe and small and protected. “You’re a good man in general, actually.”

“And you’re a good woman, little lady,” Peony murmurs, stroking her hair affectionately. “Both Nia and I are lucky to have you in our lives.”

The pair linger in each others’ arms for a long moment, and Mari lets her hands explore Peony’s back, feeling the breadth of him, the tautness to his muscles.

“Do you think Nia means it when she says she doesn’t want to come on that double date?” Peony asks abruptly. “Because -”

“She definitely means it,” Mari interrupts with a laugh before Peony can get excited about the idea of cajoling her into coming along. “Why don’t we drop her off at her Motostoke friend’s house instead? The one that stayed here last week while they did the Dynamax Adventures? They’ve been bopping back and forth between each others’ houses, and I think it’s good for Nia, actually.”

“All right, all right,” Peony agrees, bobbing his leg slightly. “But let’s pencil in a date with her another time, yeah? You, me, and Nia, in our hand-sewn expedition uniforms, taking on the Crown Tundra together -”

Mari laughs and listens to Peony as he daydreams about the grand family adventures he’d like to have together before she reaches up to his cheek and pulls him down into a kiss. As expected, her big man freezes for a moment, falling silent.

It’s not long before his soft lips start moving over hers, though, one of his large hands cupping the back of her head as he pulls her closer, and the two of them melt into the kiss and into each other.

* * *

The sky is a promising blue, the sun bright as it streams through the Corviknight taxi’s windows. Nia sits in the middle seat, wedged between Peony and Mari, and apparently very interested in something on her Rotom Phone. Mari can hardly fault her, though; she herself has spent a bit of the taxi ride texting with Kana and, occasionally, nabbing pics of the landscape below to possibly post on Pokegram later.

On the opposite side of Nia, Peony is out cold, his head tipped back against the headrest and mouth open.

Cute, Mari thinks to herself, then snaps a photo of Peony.

The rest of the ride over is very quiet, which shouldn’t surprise Mari, given that the most extroverted member of their little family is sound asleep - even if she and Nia do chat every now and then. Still, it does surprise Mari when Nia gently nudges her.

“Hey, wake up. We’re landing.” Mari blinks, sitting upright and rubbing a slight kink out of her neck. “You, too, dad. We’re here.”

Peony pays the cab driver as Mari thanks him and unpacks their luggage - including hiking backpacks - from the back of the cab. Soon, they’re making their way down the brownstone streets of Motostoke, heading towards Nia’s friend’s house. It’s amazing, Mari thinks to herself, how many people across Galar Nia knows just because of the Dynamax Adventures. The girl may not have caught Heatran yet, but that certainly didn’t mean she wasn’t becoming a formidable Trainer in her own right - with a few connections, to boot. 

Perhaps someday, Mari considers, she’ll be watching Nia fight for the Championship title.

Once Nia is safely dropped off at her friend’s place, Mari and Peony turn down another side road, heading towards Kana and Kabu’s place. It’s not far from Motostoke Stadium, and soon, they’re riding the lift up to the city’s upper level. As they head towards the Stadium, though, Mari pauses, turning to glance over her shoulder.

“I thought I heard someone calling my name,” she tells her partner when he pauses, glancing down at her to see if she’s all right. She squeezes his hand bracingly, and begins walking again.

Almost immediately, the sound comes again, this time clearer than ever.

“Mari!”

Peony turns with her this time, scanning the busy city street; with his height, he sees Kana and Kabu before Mari does.

“Hey, hey!” He laughs, pulling Mari along as he approaches the couple, his other arm spread wide. “There’s my two favorite Motostoke residents!”

“I was worried you guys weren’t gonna hear me calling for you,” Kana laughs, letting go of Kabu’s hand as she jogs towards Mari, pulling her into a very fervent hug when she reacher her. Mari laughs and hugs her friend-slash-mentee just as tightly.

“I thought I heard your voice,” Mari grins. “It’s a little tough for me to see through the crowd from down here, though.”

“Good thing Peony’s got you covered there, what with his height and all,” Kabu smiles, trailing after Kana. “How’s it going up there, old friend?” He teases, his eyes sparkling with a rare, playful light.

“I’m not even that tall,” Peony laughs. “But…since the Short Squad wants to know, things are going super-mega-ultra-great up here, especially now that we’ve found you two!” 

As Kana and Mari draw away from one another, Peony and Kabu move into a fond hug, thumping one another on the back and laughing. Then, moments later, they switch, Peony hugging Kana and Mari embracing Kabu.

“It’s good to see you, Mari,” Kabu murmurs warmly into her ear.

“You, too, Kabu,” Mari returns, just as warmly.

“Can I help you carry anything?” He asks a moment later, kind as ever.

“Oh - no, this isn’t too heavy,” Mari tries, lifting her luggage as if to show how reasonable it is for her to carry, but Kabu shakes his head.

“Really, I insist,” he says, taking the bag from her. “You’ve already got that big hiking backpack, after all.”

Beside them, a similar scenario is playing out with Kana and Peony, although it takes slightly more cajoling for Peony to agree to let Kana carry one of his bags.

“Let’s hurry back to our place and get your stuff dropped off,” Kabu smiles, already beginning to strike off down the street.

“Thank you for letting us stay with you guys before we head over to Wyndon,” Mari says gratefully.

“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Kana beams, and the group sets off, following in Kabu’s confident footsteps.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun is beginning to climb to its zenith in the sky by the time that the group of four friends strike out in the Wild Area.

“All right, boss,” Peony says, elbowing Kabu playfully. “Where are we heading to today?”

“I’m not sure I’m really the boss of this expedition,” Kabu responds with a slight frown. 

“C’mon, love, you’re out here nearly every day for your morning runs,” Kana says, looping her arm through his for a brief moment. “If anyone knows all the best routes to take, it’s gonna be you.”

“You flatter me, bun,” Kabu says, pressing a quick kiss to Kana’s temple. “Well - I suppose I had a few ideas on where we could go. What do you guys think? Somewhere with water, or somewhere with a view?”

“I don’t suppose there’s somewhere with both?” Mari asks.

“Actually,” Kabu muses. “There’s a place over by South Lake Miloch, almost at the Giant’s Seat, that’s really lovely. It’ll be probably four hours one way by foot. If that’s too long for you guys, though -”

“We can always catch a Corviknight Taxi back,” Peony says, though Mari’s pretty sure that isn’t how Kabu had been about to finish his sentence. “I say let’s do it. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to show our little ladies that we’re still tough as nails, even if we  _ are _ getting old.”

“I don’t think we ever really doubted that,” Kana tries, but there’s already a light in Kabu’s eyes that Mari’s pretty sure nobody will be able to dissuade him from.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” he nods sharply, then turns to look back at Kana and Mari. “Ladies? What do you think?”

“Think you can keep up with your men?” Peony challenges, and Kana and Mari exchange a glance, a similar flare blazing to life in their eyes.

“I think our men had better be more worried about keeping up with us,” Mari teases.

“In other words….we’re in,” Kana confirms.

* * *

The bad thing about being competitive, Mari considers, is that it leads to situations like this.

The hike had quickly turned into a battle of the sexes, with Kabu and Peony insisting on plowing ahead at times - Kabu bordering on jogging sometimes, to keep up with Peony’s longer strides, much to Kana and Mari’s amusement. When the men pushed too far ahead, Kana and Mari would deliberately outpace them as they became tired, the women’s strides evenly matched.

As a result, Kabu announces, the group is making extremely good time, with the estimated four hours’ trek now an estimated three.

At the same time, Mari notices, everyone is getting tired much earlier than they should be.

This won’t do.

“We can’t keep this pace up for another five hours, and neither can they,” Mari murmurs to Kana, gesturing with her head back to the men, who are sipping on drinks as they plod along.

“You’re right. Everyone is pushing themselves more than they should be,” Kana agrees. “And I’ve had a cramp in my left quad for the last quarter mile, at least.”

“In that case,” Mari says, slowing her pace. “Why don’t we slow down a little?”

The way Kana nods makes it clear that she catches Mari’s drift.

“I think that would be best.”

It’s not long until Kabu and Peony catch up to them; Mari’s a bit relieved to see that they’re as sweaty as she and Kana are.

“Doing all right, little ladies?” Peony asks, giving his best grin despite the way his chest heaves. “Hope we’re not tiring you out too much.”

“Actually,” Kana says pointedly. “I think everyone is tiring themselves out too much. Me included - I’ve got a nasty quad cramp.” She reaches for her water bottle, but Kabu stops her with a gentle touch of his hand.

“If you’ve got a cramp, water won’t do,” he says, his voice firm yet gentle. “You need to keep your electrolytes up. Here.” He shrugs off his backpack, then fossicks through it, procuring an unopened sports drink.

“Thank you,” Kana says, cracking it open and taking a sip.

“What about you, Mari?” Peony asks, the competitive light in his eyes gone, replaced only by concern as he tips her face up with one hand under her chin. “You look a little pale, you know. You’ve been going super-mega-ultra-hard to outpace even me.”

“I’m tired, but I’ve been drinking sports drinks the whole time,” Mari says.

“Yeah? Hey, if you’re tired, I’ll trade you something sugary for a sip of a sports drink,” Peony smiles, swinging his bag around in turn.

“Sounds like a deal,” Mari agrees with a slight smile, reaching for one of the bottles she’d packed.

“Arceus, Kabu, is it just me or does this remind you of that one time we were slated for a double battle against Opal and Melony?” Peony laughs, cracking open the bottle as Mari bites off a chunk of the granola bar he’d given her. 

“Oh, Arceus,” Kabu groans, glancing away and hiding his face. 

“If he’s blushing this much at just the mention of this battle,” Kana laughs, sidling up to the Man of Fire, “then I’ve  _ got _ to hear this story.”

“Has he really not told you?” Peony asks, his grin growing ever larger.

“I’m not sure I’m familiar with the story either, actually,” Mari admits, curious.

“I suppose I haven’t told you either, little lady,” Peony realizes, throwing his very sweaty arm around Mari and beginning to guide her down the path once again. When Mari glances over her shoulder, she sees both Kabu and Kana packing their bags up, then reaching for each other’s hand. “Mustard was Champion at the time, so we’re going  _ way _ back.”

“Oh, so this was in ancient times, then,” Kana teases, bumping her shoulder against Kabu, who by now is beet red.

“Back when fossils roamed the earth!” Peony laughs, then continues. “Anyway, Kabs and I were young men at the time, and Mustard wanted to implement some double battles into the League. Sort of like Leon’s idea, actually - just somewhat less organized. They replaced some exhibition battles, you know? Anyway, both Kabu and I were really gunning for the Championship title then.”

“Some of us still are,” Kabu comments with an arch of one brow.

“You’ll get it this year,” Peony says easily. “Anyway, the point is, we were super competitive back then -”

“ _ Were?”  _ Kana teases, and everyone chuckles.

“All right, yeah, point taken,” Peony laughs, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“If you think this is us being competitive, though, it’s nothing compared to what we did back then,” Kabu admits. “We trained nearly dawn to dusk day after day in Motostoke Stadium. It actually became a bit of a media spectacle, with a lot of press outlets showing up to get shots and interviews with Steel Peony and the Man of Fire and report on our crazy training habits.”

“It didn’t help that Kabu was relatively new to Galar then, either,” Peony comments. “The whole Region was kind of fascinated with Kabs at the time.”

“It was exhausting,” Kabu states flatly.

“Anyway, we really wanted to prove ourselves, so we went super-ultra-mega crazy on the training! We had each others’ weaknesses covered, had the perfect movesets lined up, and were ready for nearly every trick in the book we could possibly face!” Peony declares proudly, flexing his free arm. Mari can’t help but admire the thick cords of muscle that bulge beneath his shirt.

“So what happened?” Mari asks, bemused.

“We both got heat exhaustion from too much exposure to my Fire-type attacks and had to go to the Pokemon Center to be treated. We ended up missing the battle entirely,” Kabu explains, chuckling at the memory.

“Arceus,” Kana laughs. “I would say I can’t believe that, but…” 

“You two are the biggest  _ dorks _ ,” Mari laughs.

“They didn’t even let us reschedule the match,” Peony says, shaking his head as he, too, chuckles at the memory. “We had to take the loss on our official records.”

“No way!” Mari says, beginning to laugh even harder. “You guys were in the Pokemon Center, and they wouldn’t let you reschedule?”

“That’s actually kind of mean,” Kana says, though she’s laughing harder, too.

“It was for the best,” Kabu says, his voice laced with amusement. “Who knows what we would have done to ourselves if we had another double battle match to plan - and train - for?”

“Okay, fair,” Mari laughs, wiping tears from her eyes.

“The point is,” Peony says, squeezing Mari just a tiny bit tighter. “We’ve always been competitive fools who will push ourselves too hard just to prove a point.”

“Moreover, we’re competitive fools who don’t really learn our lessons,” Kabu adds with a rueful smile.

“You little ladies are good for us in that sense, you know,” Peony muses aloud. “You’re both competitive and spirited, but you know when to call it quits. Unlike us,” he adds with a wry laugh.

“So what you’re saying is you’ll keep us around,” Mari grins, slowing her pace and reaching for Peony’s jaw, pulling him down towards her.

“Hopefully for a very long time to come,” Peony murmurs, and kisses her deeply.

* * *

The rest of the hike is filled with much laughing and reminiscing. Stories of Kabu and Peony’s past are told, and Mari and Kana share some of the memories they’ve made training together, too. In the end, the last leg of the hike is taken at a much more reasonable pace, and the group soon reaches the spot Kabu had been talking about.

As they settle in by the water, laying out the food they’d brought with them, Mari pauses, taking in the moment. The brilliance of the sun on South Lake Miloch, the gentle susurration of the tall water grasses in the wind, and, of course, the grandeur of the verdant hills of the Wild Area spread before them is beautiful beyond words. But just as beautiful, she considers, is the little family she’s managed to find - not just in Peony and in Nia, who, in all regards, are her family now, but in Kana and Kabu, too, who have begun to feel like an extension to that family.

“This has been really fun. Do you guys think we can do this double date again sometime?” Mari asks abruptly.

“I don’t see why not,” Kana smiles, sitting down across from her with her container of food.

“I would like it if we could, actually,” Kabu agrees, settling next to her.

“I think it’d be super-mega-awesome if we could!” Peony chirps, plopping down next to Mari and snaking his hand around her waist.

Mari laughs and melts against her big man, placing a hand on his chest to steady herself as he pulls her close.

Once, she had thought of her family as the people she was related to, the Electric-Type Trainers whose shoes she was desperate to fill, even at the cost of her own well-being. Now, though, she knows that family can be so much more than that, and that family could be found in all sorts of places. In her case, she’d found the warmest heart she’d ever known out in the frozen Crown Tundra.

“Peony?” She murmurs as Kana and Kabu begin to chat among themselves.

“Yeah, little lady?” He asks, giving her a playful squeeze and beginning to chow down on his sandwich with his other hand. 

“You know I love you, right?”

Peony chews and swallows, an absolutely dazzling grin stretching his features.

“I know. And I’m the luckiest man in the world for it, Mari,” he beams. “You know I love you, too, right?”

Mari smiles, savoring the warmth in Peony’s green eyes.

“I know.”


End file.
